Commentary: Longtime couples know how to finish this sentence

“You know I’ve often heard.” I said over the breakfast table recently. “that after many years of marriage….
Couples can finish each other’s sentences,” my wife said, without looking up from her first cup of coffee.
“Exactly,” I said. “Which can get pretty confusing because we so often forget what we were saying in mid-thought…
“And go on to next subject…you sound irritated,” she said, in the sort of faux-calm that probably would have irritated me except for the fact that that horse had just left the barn.
“Not at all” I lied. “What were we talking about?”
“I think it was the fact that so often,…”
“We wind up finishing each sentences and then get confused because we never really finish anything?”
“Finish what? she asked”
“I seem to have forgotten.”
And so it went through the first cup of coffee until I remembered that what I really hadn’t finished was breakfast.
I was helped in this regard by my wife who was already through with her coffee and whatever internal monologue went with it and was now ready for some more marital telepathy.
“Well I’m glad you’re not irritated. Would you please pass me it.
“What?”
The salt, silly. For my eggs.”
“I don’t see any eggs,” I said.
“Because I haven’t made them yet. But when I do, I’ll want the salt.”
“But how would I know that you were even thinking about eggs, or that if you were you wouldn’t want them with pepper?”
“It’s not good for you.”
“Pepper?”
“No, salt. Why would I care if pepper was healthy when I want salt. I suppose I should give it up”
“Pepper?”
”No salt. Haven’t you been listening. I just said it wasn’t good for you.”
“Salt?”
“No eggs. I mean why worry about a little salt on top of the eggs when it’s probably the eggs that are killing you.”
“Eggs have salt?”
“No. It’s the cholesterol.”
“In the eggs?”
“No. In the sausage that you’re eating. You really should stick to eggs. Which reminds me..
“Of cholesterol?”
”No of your doctor’s appointment. You should get a haircut.”
“To see the doctor?”
“No, for your cousin’s wedding. She’s marrying a nice young doctor next month. Don’t you remember?”
“Then you mean I should get a haircut next month.”
“No, you should get a haircut now so that you’ll have some hair to cut next month. You really have to think ahead or you forget things.”
“You mean the haircut.”
“No, your suit. It needs cleaning before the wedding. You should get another one.”
“Another suit?”
“No silly. The suit is in the cleaners. I mean the shirt that matches the suit is all stained. Don’t you remember?”
“The shirt?”
“No, the stain. You got it when we all went out to brunch even though I told you not to.”
“Wear the shirt?”
”No, go to brunch. And then you go and order the Eggs Benedict.”
“I like Eggs Benedict.”
”They always turn on you. You can’t eat them without the hollandaise winding up on your shirt. You really need to learn to…
“Eat more carefully?”
“No, forget Benedict. Stick to hard boiled. Which reminds me…
“That I hate hard boiled?”:
“No silly, would you pass the salt?”